New to knives? This knife FAQ will help you.
How do I choose the right knife?
To choose the right knife, consider your specific needs. What activities will you mainly be using the knife for? Are you going to use it for bushcraft, or hunting, or food prep in camp? Will you just be carving wood or do you plan to use the knife for batoning and splitting wood? Or do you need a knife primarily for cutting and slicing?
Consider the blade grind, the steel, the handle material, and the size of the blade. Which one will suit you best?
Scandi grind or flat grind - how do I choose which grind is best?
Put simply, if you are going to be using the knife for woodcarving, or splitting wood using the batoning technique, then the scandi grind will suit best. It offers good control when carving feathersticks, and is a robust grind for splitting wood. It is also a good grind to choose for sharpening as you can more easily find the correct angle to sharpen at. If you're not practiced at sharpening a knife, then this helps a lot!
Choose a flat grind if you are going to be using the knife in camp for food preparation, or you are going to be using the knife for game preparation when deer-stalking or hunting. The flat grind excels at cutting and slicing. It can carve wood, but we would steer you towards the scandi grind for batoning. The flat grind is a little harder to sharpen than a scandi grind if you are new to sharpening, as the angle is not so easy to obtain. you can use a marker pen on the edge to help you see if you are sharpening at the right angle.
Check out the Casström YouTube channel where you will find videos to help you.
Sharpening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkjp2EzSdd0
Stropping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fF4kB5_Cm0
Knife Grinds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50OyMfJJRUE&t=47s
What are the benefits of a full tang knife?
A full tang goes from the blade to the bottom of the handle, and is the strongest construction for heavy-duty use in our opinion. It offers better balance and strength when batoning. If you are going on a wilderness trip, batoning wood, or brushing up your survival skills, we recommend a full tang knife. If a stick-tang handle breaks in the wilds it will be difficult to use. The full-tang construction of our knives can still be used even if the handle breaks..
Carbon steel or stainless steel?
This will mainly come down to preference. Carbon steel will usually be easier to sharpen, and is harder. Carbon steel requires more maintenance though, due to having to protect the steel from corrosion (a patina will develop on the steel over time, helping to protect it to some extent). Keeping the blade clean and dry is more important than with a stainless steel blade, and regular oiling of the blade is recommended.
Many bushcraft knives are carbon steel, and many hunting and deer-stalking knives are stainless steel as it is easier to maintain hygiene when processing game. Also consider where you live and whether your knife will have prolonged exposure to saltwater, or high humidity. Perhaps stainless steel may also be a better choice if you are not big on knife maintenance!
What handle material is best on an outdoor knife?
Again, this will be personal choice. A warm handle of natural wood or a tough, weather resistant handle of micarta or G10? It will be a choice made on looks perhaps, but there are some things to consider.
Wood will require maintenance and regular oiling with something like boiled linseed oil. There will be movement in the wood, especially with big temperature swings, humidity, or if the knife is wet.
You can't beat the visual appeal of wood, the beauty of the grain, or the connection you can feel to the tool through the use of a natural material. If this is your thing, go wood. If low maintenance and weather resistance without having to oil the handle are more your thing, go with stabilised wood, micarta or G10.
Which bushcraft knife should I choose - No.8 SFK, Lars Fält, Woodsman, No.10 SFK or No.14 SFK?
Firstly, and we are clearly biased here, they are all excellent knives for bushcraft and the outdoors. Casström zero* scandi grind knives carve very well and are suitable for batoning. All Casström knives can generate sparks using the spine of the knife with a firesteel, and are easy to sharpen in the field. In order of blade length, from longest to shortest :-
- No.14 SFK 14cm blade
- Lars Fält 11.5cm blade
- No.10 SFK 10cm blade
- Woodsman 9cm blade
- No.8 SFK 8cm blade
The No.14 and Lars Fält are powerful blades that will excel at splitting bigger pieces of wood. The No.10 and the Woodsman will be great all-rounders for carving and batoning. The No.8 is a really versatile utility knife with a thinner steel thickness than our other bushcraft knives. It will excel at carving, food prep, and other tasks, but will not be first choice for heavy batoning.
*read our note on zero scandi grind knives which appears under the specification on each scandi grind knife page.
What is the best hunting knife?
We would recommend the No.10 SFK with flat grind and stainless steel blade. We have suitable handle options in stabilised curly birch, orange G10, and black Micarta, with a choice of leather or kydex sheath.
For a smaller hunting knife, the Safari is an excellent choice. Again, it is flat grind with a stainless steel blade and with handle options of olive green, orange, black and stabilised curly birch. There is a choice of kydex or leather sheath.
The Swedish Field Dresser is a specialist knife for unzipping game, and skinning. The nearly straight blade also allows an easier sharpening experience compared to curved gut-openers.
Kydex or a Leather sheath?
Our No.10 SFK comes in leather and kydex options, as does the Safari mini-hunter. The No.14, Lars Fält, Woodsman and No.8 are currently only available with leather sheaths.
What's best - Kydex or Leather?
Once again, this will come down to preference. Leather is quieter, natural and marries perfectly with a wooden handled knife in our opinion. Kydex is a great low-maintenance choice offering weather resistance, and is easily washed out. There are a range of accessories to complement Casström kydex sheaths, and our Lapland leather wax to protect and maintain our leather sheaths.
I'm left-handed. Do you make left-handed knife sheaths?
Yes we do! This is not standard in the industry by any means, but we felt it was important to offer the same sheath options for left-handed people.
Do you offer any warranty on your knives?
Yes. Each Casström knife has a 25-year warranty, and the warranty details are printed and included in each knife box.
